Tennessee football stock report after Week 7: Vols OL a rare negative

Stock up

Wide receivers

Jarrett Guarantano deserves a ton of credit for throwing for over 300 yards in what was clearly his coming out party. But the fact of the matter is he was able to rely on his wide receivers in open space to make plays in one on one coverage. Finally, Tennessee football used the biggest advantage that we knew they had, which was here.

Jauan Jennings, Josh Palmer and Marquez Callaway all came through. Jennings had 71 yards and the go-ahead touchdown reception. Palmer led the team in receiving yards with 84. And Callaway had another 55. The reason the stock is so high is because we saw it rising at the Georgia Bulldogs. Callaway made a key first down, and Palmer had a key touchdown catch. With their three main guys all over 50 yards against Auburn, this team’s flawless play on the outside is going to be a major advantage.

Kickers

Notice we didn’t say the kicking game outright. That’s because a field goal was blocked Saturday. But the Vols kickers themselves are a different story. Brent Cimaglia was the star. When the protection was there, he hit three field goals, and two were beyond 40 yards. That’s huge for a college kicker, and if he doesn’t make those first half kicks, this is a totally different game.

Meanwhile, Joe Doyle showed up and made a huge impact in the punting game. He had one go for over 60 yards, and he pinned three of four punts inside the 20. Paxton Brooks didn’t allow a kickoff to get past the 25, and he actually had a beautiful onside kick that should have been recovered but wasn’t. Simply put, all three have been flawless and are only getting better. And they as a unit were as crucial to Saturday as anybody.